Haunted
by Harley Grace
Summary: An out of control Superman and an unprepared Batman don't mix... Things seem to fall apart right in front of young Richard Grayson's eyes. The League will be tested like never before as doubt takes a hold of them. Can a lost six year old boy, who just wants his Daddy back, be what brings them back together?
1. INFO

**Hey guys, this is my first YOUNG JUSTICE fan fic.**

**Just want to inform you of a few things before you read anything: **

**- this was originally in the 'Justice League' category, but I wanted to do something Father/Son related with Dick and Bruce. And I love the Young Justice characters and way of things. So now it's in this category. Hope you don't mind that too much ;)**

**- This is no longer a one-shot (HIP HIP HOORAY!)**

**- Richard Grayson is six years old. Because he's adorable that way.**

**- Wally West is seven years old.**

- **This is more focused on Bruce's and Dick's relationship, as well as their relationship within the League. So there won't be much of the Young Justice team, though some characters will make their appearances ;)**

**ENJOY!**

**- Harley Grace**


	2. Rage

**CHAPTER 1- RAGE**

**_The Watchtower_**

"Clark... stop..."

WHAM! He was thrown across the room and into the main computer. It smashed upon impact, cutting into the black tumble of fabric that was already stained with crimson.

Guttural breathing merged with the sound of approaching footsteps; of approaching doom.

His belt... he needed to reach his belt.

Every time he would come so, so close- and then the man would taunt him. Give him time to believe he had a chance. Give him time to actually _hope_ he had a chance. But whenever the kryptonite was just out of his reach, whenever he felt it brush against his gloved fingers, the red and blue blur he began to hate would throw him into another obstacle, harming him further with each onslaught.

"Superman…" He manged to pass sound through his rough and parched throat. The coppery taste of blood began to linger and stain his tongue and lips red. "Snap… out of it." He managed to hoarsely utter through a rattled breath. He had a collapsed lung. There was no doubt about it now.

"Snap out of _what, _Bruce? The surge of power I possess? You think this is _bad_ for me?" Eyes glowing red. "I have so much power, so much control within my grasp." These words were not his own… "I have never felt this way before... It's exhilarating!" He looked down at his hands in wonder, as if seeing himself for the first time.

Help was out of Batman's reach. They were alone. The world looked strangely peaceful from where they were up in space. The stars that kept the man who ruled the night company however were glinting, anxious, as if the universe itself was dreading what was to pass.

"Already admitting defeat? I haven't even begun yet…"

"N- no…" Batman's voice was defiant.

He felt himself being lifted off the ground as he was tugged by his long, midnight black cape. He braced himself, but no pain came, no sudden swish of air. Instead, he was set on his feet which were shaking, something Bruce had no control of as his body began to take hold.

"Look at me!" His consciousness was slipping… the ground swayed and blurred… "I said _LOOK! AT! ME!"_

A rough and strong hand forced his head up. Looking into fiery red eyes, he could only describe what he saw as a demon… a fallen angel that had turned from the fragile path of good.

"I know… you're in there… somewhere…" Batman growled through his clenched teeth. He looked into those glowing orbs without flinching. Without hesitation. His own gaze was equally as determined and equally as piercing.

The hand moved down to his throat; it started out slow, but more and more pressure was applied until he found himself choking for much needed air. His body instinctively reacted, and his hands desperately tried to pry the fingers loose from his already bruising neck. Stars and blackness bloomed and dotted across his vision; a dance between black and white… good and evil… life and death.

_Richard_, he suddenly thought. His son. His son needed him. He _couldn't_ give up. Not yet...

His thoughts screamed out for his last option of help, his friend. Hopefully he would get there in time…

"The man you want no longer exists." The familiar voice was heard through the pounding of blood in his ears. "He is gone… and born from the ashes comes the man I was always destined to be. Who I _longed_ to be." The demon grinned; it was a grin forged in hell.

The two orbs suddenly calmed, and turned into a sea-blue. There was confusion written in them as he looked through the white lenses of the man he held captive before him. His fingers slackened and Batman gasped in the much needed air he'd always taken for granted in painful gulps.

"What… Bruce? I'm…" The eyes displayed a mixture of horror and pain. Then it was gone, and the Man of Steel found himself once again possessed by the force that dwelled inside of him. "I'm… all-powerful! I'm indestructible!"

_It's not him. It's not him_. Batman chanted to himself. He could not let this poison his mind. "Fight… back Kent. Fight… back!" _Please…_

Once again, Batman found himself soaring through the monitor room and into the far wall. All the air he'd managed to collect was cruelly knocked out of him as he forcefully slammed into it.

The ground was stained with smeared blood, and red footprints marred the room; a grotesque and beautiful work of art.

Batman crawled his way behind the turned over conference table. No time to even think about pride. With the click of a switch on his belt, the lights blinked out, and the windows were drawn closed with metal blinds. They were submerged in complete and utter darkness.

"Hiding, are we? Fine, I can play along. You won't defeat me so easily, Bruce. I know you too well…" Slow footfalls echoed throughout the dark space. "I finally see the error of my ways. This… power that I wield can be used for so much more. So much more…"

"You should know…" Batman panted. "That with great… strengths come… equally great… weaknesses…" He clutched his side in pain, and with his other hand, he reached into his belt for his one chance of survival.

His other option still hadn't arrived. He didn't even know whether he would come. He could not rely on him too much though. As of this moment, his life was on the line.

He opened the lead compartment and reached in to find that it was … empty.

"Looking for something?" Looking over the edge of his adopted protective shield, Batman saw a green glow in the darkness.

"Looks like it fell out of that precious belt of yours. It really _does_ seem able to hold everything. How convenient." Red eyes appeared mere inches away from his face, startling him. His focus was diminishing; he should have heard him approach, should have sensed him.

He switched to night vision and backed away as he struggled to gain his footing. The kryptonite was too far away, and only seemed to slightly affect the man in front of him. It would have to be good enough.

If Batman was going down, then he was willing to go down fighting.

Clark's heat vision burned through the batarangs he heard whizzing towards his head. Distractions. "Pitiful…"

He suddenly screamed as an electric current passed through him. His cape singed and smoked; the hem was burnt.

The sound of a cloak rustling betrayed his enemy though, and he grasped into the darkness. "You're going to pay dearly for that. You _know_ I'm just going to hurt you…" The texture of fabric was in his steel grip and he tugged back, hearing a satisfying intake of breath from his foe.

"Again." He slammed him into the ground; the tremor could be felt throughout the whole foundation. The lights hesitantly flickered back on.

"And again…" Batman was flung into a far corner, and spun like a speeding bullet out of control. Blood was now freely trickling out of his mouth, his nose, his forehead... A few ribs broke when he impacted against a window, blinds still drawn. There was a loud crack as the glass splintered, and Batman could not swallow the small agonizing scream that built up and escaped him.

"And again…" He had no time to gain his bearings, no time to collect his thoughts. This time, he couldn't even remember being thrust into the computer again. All he knew was that he was being repeatedly hit again, and again, and again… an endless cycle of pain, like a waterfall mercilessly pouring down on him.

He soon became too numb to even feel the pain as his arm was suddenly twisted.

Wires sizzled and sparked as he was pulled out of the ruined and now completely destroyed monitor. His mind was too clouded to assess the damage and abuse his body had taken.

"Too bad it had to end this way, but sadly…" Superman tilted his head to the side. "Only one can sit on top of the throne of my new kingdom."

He was rambling nonsense. This wasn't him. Or was it a darker side of him, a side which was suddenly brought to light?

"Some… Kingdom." Batman spat blood out of his mouth, surprised that he still had the willpower to even move his jaw to form words. "But… you've got… a whole… other thing coming… if you…if you..." He could not finish the sentence. "Dammit Clark… snap… out of it! I don't want… you living… with the… shadow of… guilt… hanging over you…"

"What guilt will there be? There'd be only me. The others? I'll finish them. Just like I'm about to finish you." A horrifying grin suddenly spread across his face. "_And then I'm going after your son_."

"NO!" Batman yelled in sudden agony; his heart seemed to shatter into thousands of pieces. "DON'T. YOU. DARE. LAY. A. HAND. ON. MY. BOY!"

"Oops, sorry." Clark's grin grew. "But I doubt your death is going to do him much good. He'll be happy to join you, I'm sure." He lifted Batman further off the ground. "It's been fun, Bruce. But I'm going to have to kill you now."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but that's where you're wrong." Hal Jordon appeared in all of his green glory in a blaze. Martian Manhunter was following closely beside him. Batman let his arms fall slack in relief. He'd heard him… J'onn had heard him.

"Superman." The Martian said with a menacing growl. "Let him go, NOW. Drop him."

To their surprise, Clark just shrugged. "You asked." He smiled.

Then Batman was suddenly hurtling towards the wall behind them fast. Too fast. They were too late to react, and he smashed right into it. There was a sickening crack that reverberated through their heads like an ongoing taunt of failure. The least Hal could do now was prevent him from crumpling to the ground by creating huge makeshift cushions.

J'onn's eyes glowed red as he did what he least liked to do, and penetrated Clark's mind.

The effect was instantaneous.

Clark crumpled to the ground on all fours, panting as he struggled to not retch all over the floor. His arms shook as he slowly lifted his head up- only to be met with the view of a glowing green ring being pointed directly between his eyes.

"Don't. Move." Hal growled.

"Lantern." Martian Manhunter laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Stand down. It's him."

"You sure?" Hal hesitated. "Completely him? He's back?"

J'onn nodded. It was enough for Hal to lower his ring, but only marginally.

"What… What's going on?" Clark's blue eyes glazed over as he was suddenly attacked by a severe headache. His head twitched to the side; what he did not expect to find was a motionless Batman lying on the ground, beaten and bloodied.

The Flash was suddenly kneeling down beside him, flitting his hands over him in shock and horror, as many more league members swarmed at the door. Sounds filled the watchtower, which had been mostly empty moments before.

"Hal, clear the corridors. Get the infirmary ready. And get Diana. I think she needs to stay with Superman." J'onn commanded. "Get everyone away…" He regretfully looked at the crowd gathering at the entrance of the room. "I shouldn't have called them all…" He muttered.

Superman stared long and hard at his friend in disbelief. "J'onn… what happened?" He looked down at his hands and recoiled. He suppressed the scream that rose in the back of his throat.

His hands… they were stained red. But it couldn't be his blood…

He looked up at the Martian with red rimmed eyes…

"J'onn…What… _What have I done_?!"

No words of comfort came as Superman buried his head into his hands, struggling to control his shaking body, as Batman was carried from the room.

The Dark Knight permitted himself one last look at the form of his tormentor. Clark's head slowly came up; his eyes were shadowed and looked haunted.

Then Bruce blacked out, and welcomed the darkness with open arms.


	3. Guilt

**CHAPTER 2- GUILT**

"How's he holding up?" The Amazon princess asked the Scarlet Speedster in hushed tones as she worriedly glanced at the Man of Steel. He paid no attention to them; he merely looked blankly ahead in the direction of the med bay, no doubt internally tearing himself apart for what he'd done.

It still hadn't properly registered in anyone's mind what had just conspired.

"Not good." Barry said solemnly. He rarely ever was the kind of guy to be serious about anything, but this… this had shaken him to his very foundation. "He hasn't said a word since… well, you know." His eyes met Diana's. "How's Batman?"

"We should take this outside." Diana said softly as Superman let his hands cover his face. At least his tortured gaze was now hidden from view. He hadn't moved an inch from his place on the floor in the monitor room.

The place had become the remnants of a battle ground. Wires sparked, metal pieces lay scattered around the floor, and windows were cracked, forming spider-web-like patterns.

Then there was the blood, and the claw-marks on the floor.

Clark's hands were still stained with crimson; the blood of his closest friend.

A friendship which had just been torn apart in a matter of minutes.

Diana and Barry walked down the hall, a distance hopefully extending further than Superman's super-hearing limits.

"Well? What's his condition?" The Flash urged when they came to a halt. "Is he … is he going to …_live_?" He nearly choked on the word.

"I honestly don't know, Barry." Diana said as she hugged herself. Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. "I mean, the condition he was in when we found him-" She covered her mouth to stifle the sob.

"Hey, Di," Flash drew her in to a hug. "It's gonna be alright. He'll be alright. He has to." His voice held confidence. "I mean, he's the Batman."

"Yeah." Diana tried to smile as they drew apart. "It's just… hard to remember that when… he's so obviously… _human_."

At that moment Oliver decided to appear. His expression was the opposite of his usual cocky grin and confident demeanor. It was worried, saddened, confused, as if asking 'how could this have happened?'

That was something everyone wanted to know.

"Hey guys." He said with an exhausted sigh as he ran a hand down his face. "How's Clark doing?"

Diana and Barry merely hung their heads.

"That bad, huh?"

"What's bugging me is _why_ Clark did it." Barry ground out, his expression turning into one of anger and rage.

"Mind-control? Who knows?" Oliver said, defeated. "J'onn will look into it once he's done with Batman's surgery." Barry winced. "He definitely didn't do it on purpose!"

"I know, it's just- just- GAH!" Barry growled. "This whole situation sucks!"

"Auntie D?" A voice piped up, and Diana suddenly gasped. Her eyes grew wide as something dawned upon her.

"What is it?" Green Arrow asked worriedly.

The small voice had come from her communicator. "It- It's Robin!" She said shakily.

"Helooooo? Auntie Diana, it's Dick!" Came the innocent young boy's voice, young and cheerful. Completely oblivious.

"How- How are we going to tell him?" She managed to choke out. "Not only him, but- Alfred as well." New fresh tears trailed down her cheeks.

"DIANNNNAAAAAAAAA! I'm boooored! Are you there?" Dick practically yelled.

"Yikes." Oliver said softly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Who wants to draw straws?"

He received a hard hit to the back of his head. "This is no time for jokes, Queen!" Diana fumed as she clenched her fists in fury. "Bruce's life is on the line!"

"Clark's sanity too." Barry couldn't help adding. He shrunk away as Diana glared daggers at him.

She finally drew the communicator to her ear, and desperately tried to control the fear in her voice.

"Rich-Richard?"

"FINALLY! Auntie D, I am soooooooooooooo bored!" Dick whined. "And Daddy won't pick up his communitator!"

"Communicator." Diana automatically corrected him as she forced to steady her shaking arms.

"Yeah, that thingy. Anyhow, I was wondering if you could tell Daddy to come home now." Dick continued. "He said he'd only be gone for a short while, because Uncle Clark wanted to meet him. But I made some cookies with Alfred," He piped up proudly, "and they're getting cold."

"This is going to _kill_ the kid…" Barry whispered to Diana. "We _can't_ tell him."

"Who's that?" Dick asked. "Uncle Barry, is that you?"

"One second Richard. I'll be right back." Diana quickly said as she hung up.

"We have to tell him sometime!" She hissed at Barry. "We can't keep him in the dark for long!"

"Here's an idea." Oliver said. "How about someone picks him up from the mansion to stay with Bruce?"

"But- He can't see Bruce that way!" Wonder Woman practically screeched. "He's six years old, Oliver! SIX!"

"I was thinking about Bruce when I made that suggestion, Di." Oliver said apologetically. "Richard's presence might be what he needs the most right now…"

Diana, breathing hard, clenched her eyes shut, just wishing that all of this could go away. That it never happened. That it was nothing more than a terrible nightmare.

Finally, she mumbled "I'll go down to get him with Black Canary."

Queen smiled sadly as he laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Things will get better. They have to."

"Someone should go back to Supes now, I think." Barry said as he heaved a sigh. "He's going to need us."

"I'll go in." Green Arrow straitened his back, as if readying himself for battle. "This isn't going to be easy..."

"Is anything ever?" Barry mumbled. "I would come too, but I need to check up on Wally."

"Got it. See you later?"

"I'll be here as often as I can. Wally could help Dick out too..."

"Sounds good."

With that they all departed, going their separate ways.

Diana took a shuddering breath... how was Robin going to get through this? He'd witnessed his parents fall to his death in front of his very own eyes.

What would happen if -Diana could hardly even think it- he lost _another_ father?


End file.
